Since their show-stopping design for the Barclays Center turned an international design spotlight on SHoP Architects in 2013, the firm has been creating a range of innovative new residential projects in New York, including several major projects for JDS Development Group. JDS founder Michael Stern reached out to the SHoP team in 2013, noting with admiration that he had wanted to “meet the lunatics” who had designed Barclays. He was especially impressed that for a project under a great deal of scrutiny, and with complex politics involved, SHoP had made bold aesthetic choices rather than playing it safe. Four years later, JDS and SHoP have undertaken several high-profile projects together, including the ultratall 111 West 57th Street, which combines the landmarked Steinway Building with a sleek new tower clad in light-colored ceramics and brass. On the East River Waterfront, the firms have collaborated on the eye-catching American Copper Buildings at 626 First Avenue. And in another collaboration that deftly weaves a historic building into a new project, the luxury rentals at 9 DeKalb Avenue, which sit adjacent to the landmarked Dime Savings Bank, will soon be in Brooklyn’s tallest residential tower.

JDS Development Group has secured financing to complete the 73-story, mixed-used building at 9 DeKalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn. The residential real estate developer has teamed up with Chetrit Group on the 400-residence project, which will become Brooklyn’s tallest tower when it tops out at 1,066 feet. Designed by SHoP Architects, the glass- and bronze-clad skyscraper will also incorporate the opulent, Greek-inspired, landmarked Dime Savings Bank on its ground floor.

JDS Development Group is set to bring Brooklyn its very first skyscraper at the site of the former Dime Savings Bank at 9 DeKalb. The NYC real estate developers have joined forces once more with SHoP Architects to create the slender, bronze-encased tower, which will soar 1,066 feet and house 500 residences upon its anticipated completion date in 2019.

The world of NYC real estate development has transformed from an aristocracy dominated by developers from established real estate dynasties into a leveled “meritocracy”, according to Michael Stern, the head of the JDS Development Group. Speaking at a recent panel hosted by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Stern credited the change to the Internet–which freed information once kept behind closed doors–as well as nimbler urban development in the information age. Instead of waiting until an area has been filled with offices before introducing residential developments, Stern is successfully reversing the trend with developments like the super-tall residential tower under construction in Downtown Brooklyn, which is adding new vibrancy to the booming neighborhood.

JDS Development Group is bringing deluxe living space to Brooklyn. Michael Stern, head of JDS, discussed recently how the booming borough was ripe for “transformative development,” and how his newest project, the supertall tower at 9 DeKalb Avenue, will contribute to downtown Brooklyn’s shifting skyline. When it comes to housing, JDS Development’s luxury condos at 613 Baltic Street are perfectly poised to appeal to the growing set of buyers who are moving out of Manhattan and into Brooklyn as “a cultural and lifestyle choice.”

Top NYC real estate developer Michael Stern of JDS Development Group recently shared his thoughts on two of his firm’s high-profile projects: 9 Dekalb in Brooklyn and 111 West 57th Street in midtown Manhattan. According to Stern, the JDS approach to development is about “creating the best building we can responsive to a particular site.” While 9 Dekalb incorporates the landmarked Dime Savings Bank, 111 West 57th Street is “irreplaceable real estate,” says Stern. Noting that the real estate business in New York is “a marathon, not a sprint,” Stern adds that buyers will always seek out high-quality properties.